Raylan Givens
Deputy US Marshal Raylan Givens is a 19th century style lawman in 21st century Harlan County, Kentucky portrayed by starring cast member Timothy Olyphant. He is a quirky but dedicated contemporary U.S. Deputy Marshal who, having committed a justified killing in Florida (he shot a mob hit man who had just drawn a gun on him with intent to kill), has been re-assigned to Kentucky. Having grown-up in that area and having spent much of his life trying to escape from it, Raylan is not pleased to be there. Ghosts from his past including former lovers, a former friend now involved in criminal militia activity, a criminal father, and his own persistent anger management issues all come back to haunt him. Having been handed this lemon, Raylan is determined to make lemonade of it. Biography Background Raylan Givens was born and raised in the rural backwaters of Harlan County Kentucky. Raised by his estranged father, Arlo Givens and his step-mother Helen Givens. His mother Frances Givens, sister of Helen, died sometime in his youth. Raylan had a turbulent childhood due to his out of control father, a career criminal. Raylan became familiar with Kentucky's criminal underworld through Arlo. In his late teen years Raylan worked in the coal mines with his childhood friend Boyd Crowder. Crowder's family was also heavily involved in Kentucky's criminal underworld. Raylan is portrayed in flashbacks to this period by co-star Danny Wildman. Driven by his distaste of life in Kentucky and his hatred of crime, Raylan would leave his home and become a Deputy US Marshal. Many of Raylan's childhood friends and family acquaintances would later be the very people he would pursue. He was assigned to many field offices across the US (one of which was in Texas) and spent time abroad. Raylan met and married an attractive court stenographer by the name of Winona Hawkins. He was eventually be assigned as a firearms instructor at the US Marshal's Academy in Glynco, Georgia alongside Art Mullen. When Winona divorced him due to his anger management issues he left Glynco and transfered to the Miami Florida Field Office. He spent six years there hunting fugitives, and remains in this post when the pilot episode opens. Season 1 US Deputy Marshal Raylan Givens gets run out of Miami for very publicly killing a cartel drug runner by the name of Tommy Bucks. Out of desire to avoid scandal and fear for Raylan's safety, Chief Deputy Dan Grant has him transfered to the Lexington Field Office in Kentucky where his former friend and new boss Chief Deputy Art Mullen assigns him to investigate his old childhood friend Boyd Crowder, now a white supremacist who's robbing banks and wreaking havoc on the black community. Not one to follow by the rules, Raylan gets involved with Boyd's former sister in law Ava Crowder and risks compromising the mounting case against Boyd. Season 2 Season 2 for Raylan starts off just a few minutes after the events from the season finale of season 1. In The Moonshine Wars, after Boyd goes after the drug lord's niece, he eventually tracks the wounded girl to the airport where he attempts to kill her. Raylan comes in the last minute and tries to talk Boyd out of killing the girl. Instinctly both Raylan and Boyd take out the girl's two remaining henchmen, with Boyd wounded in the process. Entrusting Boyd's safety to an innocent trucker, Raylan takes the drug lord's wounded niece into her private jet and flies to Miami. Once in Miami, Raylan takes the girl to the drug lord's mansion, where he attempts to negotiate with the crime boss to either stop chasing after him or he kills him right on the spot. Before anything else happens Raylan's old boss, Dan Grant, swoops in and gives the Miami drug lord a message, if he continues to pursue and kill Raylan he will personally come an kill the drug lord himself. With that settled, Grant offers Raylan his job back, in which Raylan turns it down and says that he'll go home and sleep. Being forced to take on paper work back at the office, Raylan agrees to accompany Rachel Brooks to Harlan County to apprehend a convicted sex offender by the name of, James Earl Dean. After snooping around Raylan discovers that Dean is employed by the Bennett family, which forces him to talk to the Bennett's matriarch Mags Bennett. With the help of a Kentucky State Trooper, Raylan and Rachel track Dean to a gas station arresting him and saving the young Loretta McCready, who Dean kidnapped. In The Life Inside, Raylan and Tim Gutterson get hoodwinked after two armed men help a pregnant prisoner,Jamie Berglund, that they were escorting, escape. In The I of the Storm, Raylan is trying to deal with the possibility that his secret affair with Winona might be exposed after accidently running into Tim Gutterson at a concert. While at the same time Raylan is investigating the robbery of a church tour bus, a front for illegal transportation for Oxycotine, only a few miles away from Bennett territory. It is during the course of the investigation that leads Raylan to Dewey Crowe, who previously robbed the high-jackers of the Oxy bus impersonating as Raylan. In For Blood or Money, Raylan helps Rachel catch her recently paroled brother-in-law, and during the course of their hunt Raylan tries to make sure Rachel's emotional involvement doesn't affect the case. When Raylan gets a tip from Dewey that the Bennetts are into something big, and further agitates the clan by looking into fraudulent check cashing of the young Loretta's missing father during the episode Cottonmouth. Season 3 Following the events from the season 2 finale, Bloody Harlan, at the beginning of the Season 3 premiere, The Gunfighter, Raylan has been put into a hospital, due to the shot he received in the side by the goons guarding the Bennett house. Three weeks later, Raylan is back on his feet, and while testing his shooting at the range in the Marshall's office, it appears Raylan has lost most of his shooting accuracy, as well as his ability to quick-draw. Later on that day while interrogating Boyd, the two get into a heated argument due to the fact Raylan did not keep his word about bringing Dickie back to Boyd once he was done with him. The two get into a fight, with Boyd tacking Raylan out of the window and Boyd being drug out of the Marshal's office. Art has also placed Raylan on live duty due to his injury, however Gutterson needs Raylan's help due to the fact one of Duffy's men, Fletcher "The Icepick" Nix, killed Delmar Coats and a pizza boy that was held hostage to get into the house. Duffy remembers that the last time they talked, Raylan threatened him saying there wasn't gonna be a conversation, but Duffy doesn't cough up any information. Through Arnett's secretary Yvette, Raylan learns of the whereabouts of the meeting between Nix and Emmett later that evening at a cab stand. However, unbeknownst to Raylan, Quarles was behind the information being planted. On the way back to his and Winona's motel room, they find Nix waiting for them with a gun. Nix orders Raylan to put his gun along with the holster on the ground. Nix decides to play the same game he played earlier with Coats (This involves a gun being sat in the middle of the table and having a witness count down from 10, once they reach 1 they both go for the gun, Nix then would stab the other player in the hand with an ice pick before taking the gun and killing them.) Raylan and Nix begin to play, however Raylan, seeing through Nix's scheme, pulls the table cloth towards him once they reach 1, causing Nix to lunge and stab the table with the ice pick, and Raylan grabs the gun and shoots Nix in the shoulder. Personality Among Raylan's personality traits are a strong preference for Western attire -- Stetson hat, tailored jeans and cowboy boots -- and a highly creative approach to law-enforcement which includes his highly-developed skill at the quick-draw. Raylan's posting in Texas may have been the place where he inherited these traits. Unlike other officers of the law, Raylan's approach to crime fighting is similar in style to an old western sheriff, such as accepting a friendly drink from a suspect or witness while on duty. Despite being well known for shooting the most people as a Deputy US Marshal, Raylan is also good at deescalating conflicts and finding resolution by simply pointing out the flaws in which a suspect finds himself in. For example, in the pilot episode, Dewey Crowe tries to intimidate Raylan by taking a shotgun from the trunk of his car and loading two rounds but forgetting to rack a round in the chamber. Raylan calls him out immediatly and tells Crowe "Can you rack in a load before I put a hole through you?". While he doesn't always color between the lines, Raylan Givens applies himself diligently to putting bad people behind bars and protecting good people. He is not a perfect man, but an essentially decent one. Relationships *Winona Hawkins: Lover and mother of his child. *Boyd Crowder: Childhood Friend, Nemesis *Arlo Givens: Father *Frances Givens: Mother, Deceased *Helen Givens: Step-Mother, Formerly Aunt, Deceased(His mother's sister married his father) *Art Mullen: Longtime Friend and Boss *Ava Crowder: Former High School Crush *Tim Gutterson: Coworker, US Deputy Marshal *Rachel Brooks: Coworker, US Deputy Marshal Memorable Quotes *(Regarding the Miami killing)"It was justified" *"I've shot people I liked more for less" *(To Ava)"You do seem to have a penchant for getting abducted" *(To Duffy's henchman) "What's wrong with you? You don't piss on someone's lawn." *"I didn't order assholes with my whiskey." *"That's a 10-gallon hat on a 20-gallon head." Image Gallery Category:Characters Category:Starring Characters Category:Season 1 Category:Season 2 Category:Season 3